Safety and vacuum valve for expansion-pipes.



No. 687,8I7. Patented Dec. 3, |90.

c. c. cuNNELL. I SAFETY AND VACUUM VALVE FOR EXPANSION PIPES.

(Application led Mar. 19, 1901.1

f 2 Sheets-Sheet I..

(N0 Model.)

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Patented Dec. 3, I90l.

No. 687,8i7.

C. C. CNNELL.

SAFETY AND VACUUM VALVE FOR EXPANSION PIPES.

(Application led Mar. 19, 1901.)

2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

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I compartmentshell, provision also being made A'UNITED STATES PATENTOrmes,

CHARLES C. CONNELL, OE HAYDENVILLE, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TOHAYDENVILLE COMPANY, OF HAYDENVILLE, MASSACHUSETTS, A COR PORATION.

SAFETY AND VACUUM VALVE FOR EXPANSION-PIPES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N o. 687,817, datedDecember 3, 1901.

Application filed March 19, 1901.

To 4ci/,ZZ whom it may concern:

Beit known that I, CHARLES C. CONNELL, a citizen of the United States,residing at Haydenville, in the county of Hampshire .and

5 State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Safety andVacuum Valve for Expansion-Pipes, of which the following is aspecification. t

My invention relates to a device for pre- 1o venting the exploding orcollapse of househeating and range hot-Water boilers particularly; andit consists, essentially, of a perforated flexible diaphragm having avalve attached thereto and an auxiliary valve in a bifor a 'water sealin this construction; and the objects of my improvement are, first, toprovide against the loss of hot water and against undue pressure in theboiler and possible exzo plosion resulting from steam generated suddenlyor quickly from any cause; second, to relieve any vacuum that may occur,and thus prevent collapse of said boiler, as when the water from themain supply is suddenly withdrawn, and, third, to vent the boiler in theabsence of pressure therein, thereby insuring free delivery of Waterbeing drawn from the same, as well as affording an opportunity for allair, whether hot or cold, to escape, and obviating the liability of saidair being held back or forced into any crook, S connection, ordelivery-pipe to interfere with the proper Working of the apparatus orsystem. My device is useful, too, in connection with the cold- Watersupply for a house, as it removes the danger of pipes bursting andprevents serious water-ha1nmer. I attain these objects by the mechanismillustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which*c 4o V Figure 1 is aside elevation of a hot-water boiler equipped with my automatic safetyand vacuum valve; Fig. 2, an enlarged sidefview of said valve; Fig. 3,`avertical section through the latter; Fig. 4, a top view of the rubberdiaphragm; Fig. 5, an enlarged interior view of the shell looking intothe same from below, and Fig. 6 an enlarged interior view of thebase-piece looking into the same from above.

Serial No. 51,884. (No model.)

Similar figu res refer to sim ilar parts throughout the several views.

M y invention is shown mounted on a hot water boiler 7 at the top of theexpansionpipe '8 in Fig. 1, said boiler having the circulating-pipes 9and 10 extending therefrom. The boiler 7" receives its supply of waterfrom either the street-main 11 or the tank 12, into which said mainopens, through the pipe 13. The high-pressure and vacuum safety deviceis preferably attached to the expansion-pipe at the top of the boiler,but may of course be attached' to a eold-water-supply expansionpipe. Thevalve-shell 14 has the threaded top 14, into which the fulcrum -hub 15is screwed. The hub 15 is equipped with the ordinary ears 15, to whichthe safety-valve lever 16 is pivoted at 17, and with the guide l5b forsaid lever. The lever 17 is notched as usual and provided with theweight or ball 1S. 4

A tight joint is formed between the shell 14 and the fulcrum-hub 15 bymeans of vthe metallic washer 19 and the diaphragm 20, of rubber orother flexible material, the latter being held firmly between thespindle 2l and the valve-stem 22, which screws onto the threadedspindlefshank 21, passing't-hrough said diaphragm into said stem. Thewasher 19 and the diaphragm 2O are held tightly between adjacentsurfaces of the shell 14 and the hub 15. The spindle 21 rises through anopening in the hub 15 to receive the lever 16. v The valve 23,preferably of rubber, is attached to the base of the stem 22 by thewinged guide 24, which has the threaded shank 24 to pass through saidvalve and screw into said base.

The shell 14 is divided into the two compartments or chambers 25 and 26by walls in which are the vertical openings 27 and 28, one above theother, said openings being surrounded by the valve-seats 27a and 28,respectively. The projection 14" extends from one side of the shell 14for a vent or waste pipe connection and opens into the chamber 95 25.The ehambered base-piece 29 is screwed into the threaded lower end ofthe shell 14, tight against the outer edges of the flexible and forcethe valve 33 against its seat 32.

diaphragm 30 and the metallic washer 3l. On the interior of thebase-piece 29 is the vertical ridge 29, forming a channel with thesurrounding wall for a. water seal. The lower end of the base-piece 2f)is threaded to screw intothe expansion-pipe S. The winged guide 32 hasthe threaded shank 32 extending through openings in the valve 33, themetallic washer 3l, the diaphragm 30, and the metallic dome 35, and thenut 36 is screwed onto the bottom of said shank to bind these partstightly together. The winged guides 24 and 32 operate in the openings 27and 28, respectively, which latter are grooved to receive theregistering projections or wings of said guides and retain theirattached valves constantly in proper position relative to the seats 27and 28a. The grooves in the wall about the opening 2S for the receptionof the wings of the guide 32 are bestshown in Fig. 5, in which the guideitself is also indicated by dotted lines. The wall about the opening 27is grooved in a similar manner.

The valve 33 is preferably of rubber and adapted to bear against theseat 28th The diaphragm 30 is also preferably of rubber, and should beof greater diameter than the peripheral bearing for the same in ordertoallow for considerable movement on the part of said diaphragm. Saiddiaphragm is provided with a series of holes 30, somewhat remote fromthe edge thereof. Thedome 35 is shaped like a shallow cup inverted,"withits edges in the water-seal channel. The 0bject of the water seal is tocondense the steam that arises, and thereby prevent deleterious actionon the rubber parts in the interior of the device.

It will now be readily understood that any undue pressure that mayaccumulate for any reason, such as an increase caused by the suddenlowering of the water in the boiler, and consequent rapid formation ofsteam, or the lessened demand for water at night must elevate the dome35, with the diaphragm 30, In the same manner the loss of hot waterforced out of the expansion-pipe into the base-piece 29 by the inflow ofcold water is prevented; otherwise the water would escape through thediaphragm holes 30, the chamber 26, the opening 28, the chamber 25, andthe passage in the projection 14:1. After the valve 33 is closed thepressure accumulates in the chamber 26, entering through the holes 30'until of sufficient force to raise the auxiliary valve 23 from its seatand escape through the opening 27, the chamber 25, and the passage inthe projection 14th, thus obviating any tendency toward an explosion. Onthe other hand, the withdrawal of pressure in the chamber of thebase-piece 29 allows the diaphragm 30 to drop and carry the valve 33away from its seat, so that air can enter by way of the passage in theprojection 14h, the chamber 25, the opening 2S, the chamber 26, and theholes 30L to preventthe formation of a vacuum and remove the liabilityof collapse. Iiugs 38 prevent the lower edge of the cup-shaped piece 35from entirely closing the opening. Four (more or less) of these lugs arearranged on the bottom of the channel formed by the wall of thebase-piece 29 and the ridge 29, as will be clearly seen upon referenceto Fig. 6. The holes in the diaphragm 30 are large enough for thepassage of air, but not so large as to admit a sullicientv quantity ofwater to pass through to interfere with the elevation of said diaphragmand the proper closing of the valve 33. The winged guides 24 and 32 donot fill the openings in which they operate sufficiently to interferewith the adequate passage of the elements through said openings.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is-

l. In combination with a chambered shell having a valve-opening, aflexible diaphragm having holes between its center and circumference andconnected with a valve, interposed between the chamber in said shell andan expansion-pipe connection.

2. In combination with a chambered shell having a valve-opening, achambered basepiece, and a flexible diaphragm having holes between itscenter and circumference, connected with a valve and interposed betweenthe chambers in said shell and base-piece.

3. In combination, a bicompartment-shell having two valve-openings, aperforated flexible diaphragm interposed between one of the compartmentsin said shell and an expansionpipe connection, a valve connected withsaid diaphragm and adapted to close one of said valve-openings, and anauxiliary valve adapted to close the other of said valve-openings.

4. In combination with arange or'water system for buildings suppliedfrom a street-main or lank,a shell mounted on an expansion-pipe, and aflexible diaphragm secured by its edges in said shell, saiddiaphragmhaving holes between its center and circumference and providedwith a central valve adapted to close a valve-opening when underpressure.

5. In combination with a range or water system for buildings suppliedfrom a street-main or tank,ashell mounted on an expansion-pipe, aperforated flexible diaphragm secured by its edges in said shell, saiddiaphragm provided with a central valve adapted to close a valve-openingwhen under pressure, and an auxiliary safety-valve normally closing asecond valve-opening.

6. In combination with a chamber-ed shell having a valve-opening, achambered bases piece provided with a water-seal channel, a perforatedflexible diaphragm connected with a valve and interposed between thechambers in said shell and base-piece, and a dome attached below saiddiaphragm and movable therewith, a portion of said dome extending intosaid water-seal channel, substantially as set forth.

7. In combination with a range or water system for buildings suppliedfrom a 'street' IIO main or tank, a shell mounted on an expansion-pipeand provided with a water seal channel, a perforated flexible diaphragmsecured by its edges in said shell and provided with a valve and a domedepending into said water seal channel, said valve adapted to close avalve-opening when under pressure, substantially as set forth.

8. In combination, a bicompartment-shell having two valveopenings,achambered basepiece provided with a water-seal channel, a perforatedflexible diaphragm interposed between one of the compartments in saidshell and the base-piece chamber, a valve connected with said diaphragmand adapted to close one of said valve-openings, a dome attached belowsaid diaphragm and movable therewith, a portion of said dome extendinginto said water-seal channel,and an auxiliary valve adapted to close theother of said valveopenings, substantially as set forth.

9. In combination with a range or water system for buildings suppliedfrom a streetmain or tank, a shell mounted on an expansion-pipe andprovided with a water-seal channel, a perforated flexible diaphragmsecured by its edges in said shell and provided with a valve and a domedepending into said water-seal channel, said valve adapted to close avalve-opening when under pressure, and an auxiliary safetyvalve normallyclosing a second valve-opening, substantially as set forth.

10. The combination, of a bicompartmentshell having a vent or waste pipeopening leading from one of the shell-compartments, a chamberedbase-piece, two valve-openings between the shell-compartments, valvesfor said openings, a weighted lever to normally control one of saidvalves and a perforated exible diaphragm to normally control the other,substantially as set forth.

11. In combination with a chambered shell having a fulcrum-hub mountedthereon, and a weighted lever pivoted to said hub, a flexible diaphragmheld by adjacent surfaces of 13. In combination with a chambered shellvhaving a valve-opening with grooved. walls, a valve provided with awinged guide adapted to register with the valve-opening grooves andreciprocate therein, substantiallyl as described.

14. In combination with a valve mechanism, a flexible diaphragm heldfirmly by its edges and slack in the center, capable of intermediatemovement, and a valve connected therewith, said diaphragm having holesthrough the same between its center and circumference, substantially asshown.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

Y CHARLES C. CONNELL.

Witnesses:

WILLIAM G. LooMIs, CARL B. MARTIN.

